


102

by wearing_tearing



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bottom Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes's Birthday, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-14 23:35:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18062354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wearing_tearing/pseuds/wearing_tearing
Summary: “How long—” Bucky is afraid of asking, but Steve has always been good at understanding what he can’t say.“You’re 102,” Steve answers, eyes shining with unshed tears.**Bucky comes back on March 10th, 2019.





	102

**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday to my favorite, bucky barnes.

Bucky comes back on March 10th, 2019.

His body materializes where it was lost once before, in the Wakanda forest, with green grass still dewy from last night’s rain. He coughs, dust caught in his throat, and gives himself a shake that unsettles the ash caught in his hair.

Bucky sneezes, and then scrunches his nose up at himself, “Gross.”

“Bucky?”

Bucky raises his head, heart already clenching inside his own chest at the familiar tune of Steve’s voice. It’s like being punched in the gut, the first sight of Steve a few ways in front of him, still bearded and with hair even longer than before this new war started, with devastation written all over his worn out face.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Bucky murmurs. The words are barely out of his mouth before Steve is running to him with clumsy feet, his hands outstretched, reaching for Bucky like he’ll disappear again if Steve doesn’t put his hands on him.

Bucky huffs with the impact of Steve’s body against his own, but hugs him back just as tight. He’s missed this too, while trapped inside the Soul World with the others, and he has a mind of never letting go of Steve again.

Steve chokes on a breath against the side of Bucky’s neck, arms clutching Bucky so tight it hurts. Bucky can feel the wet of tears against his skin, hear every hitch in Steve’s breathing, and his heart breaks anew.

“I’m here. I’m right here,” Bucky promises. “You got me, Steve. I’m right here.”

Steve pulls back, face wet and eyes red, and presses their foreheads together. “God, I missed you.”

Bucky nuzzles their noses together, heart aching at the pain in Steve’s voice. “How long?”

“Too long,” Steve rasps out. His hands come up to cup Bucky’s cheeks. “Happy birthday.”

Shock steals the breath from Bucky’s lungs. Steve’s hands on his face are the only thing that keep him standing as dread curls up in his stomach and rises up his throat.

“How long—” Bucky is afraid of asking, but Steve has always been good at understanding what he can’t say.

“You’re 102,” Steve answers, eyes shining with unshed tears.

“Only a year then.” Bucky breathes a sigh of relief just as he tightens his arms around Steve’s waist and pulls him close again. He’s only missed a year while trapped, not even that. “Only a year.”

“Still too damn long,” Steve sniffles, eyes closing as his expressions twists with pain.

“I’m here now,” Bucky promises again. “Are the others—”

Steve nods, hands sliding back through Bucky’s dust-covered hair. “Everyone is back. We got all of you back.”

“And just in time to celebrate,” Bucky tries to joke.

To Steve’s credit, he lets out a little laugh, a cross between hurt and relief so great it makes him shudder. Bucky gathers him close once again, letting Steve feel him, touch him, breathe him in, all so he can convince himself Bucky is really back.

“Thanos?” Bucky asks through a lump in his throat. He doesn’t want to fight anymore, but he will if it means protecting others, if it means protecting Steve.

“He’s dead,” Steve says, voice muffled against the fabric of Bucky’s uniform jacket.

Bucky’s the one who slumps in relief now, tucking his nose right behind Steve’s ear and breathing in the sweaty and familiar scent of him. “How?”

“There’s a new Captain.” Steve pulls back so he can stare at Bucky, and Bucky’s heart flips at seeing a little smile playing at Steve’s lips. “Her name’s Carol. She took care of him.”

“A new Captain?” Bucky raises an eyebrow.

Steve’s fragile smile widens. “Air Force. She can shoot fire from her hands.”

Bucky whistles. “I’d have to meet her,” he says, “but not now.”

Steve swallows, eyes darkening as his eyes flicker down to Bucky’s mouth. “We don’t have be anywhere,” he says. “Not for a while.”

“Is my hut still standing?” Bucky asks.

“Yeah. I’ve… It’s where I’ve been staying, when we weren’t—” Steve clenches his jaw. “When we weren’t working on getting everyone back.”

Bucky’s heart breaks all over again. He wants to erase this pain from Steve’s mind, wants to reassure Steve that he’s here and he doesn’t plan on going anywhere ever again. Maybe they can retire now that Thanos is gone, grab their things and disappear, live a quiet life and finally return home from the war.

“C’mon,” Bucky says, grabbing Steve by the hand. “I need a shower. I can’t spend my birthday covered in dust and with disgusting hair.”

Steve’s mouth twitches up at the corners, and he lets himself be led through the forest until they reach Bucky’s hut. Bucky is glad to see his goats have survived, even though none of them pay one lick of attention to him when he crosses the fence that marks the boundaries of his home.

“I’ve been feeding them,” Steve explains when Bucky turns to him in question, “with the help of other Wakandans that survived the Snap.”

Bucky nods, and then leans in to press a kiss to Steve’s bearded cheek. “Thank you.”

Steve squeezes his hand in answer.

The knot in Bucky’s stomach loosens when he steps inside his hut. It’s been his safe space ever since waking up from cryo, a home he tried to make for himself, and it’s good to know this, too, has survived the war. It looks different now, with vestiges of Steve around each and every corner of the place, and that soothes something deep inside of Bucky’s chest, to know this was also a safe space for Steve when he was at his worst — when he was without Bucky.

Bucky stares at Steve from over his shoulder. “Come shower with me?”

Steve smiles, small and a little sad, and says, “Whatever you want.”

Bucky wants. He wants Steve close, wants to reassure both of them this is really happening, that they’re here and they’re whole and that this is not a dream.

Steve helps Bucky out of his uniform, gentle hands touching and caressing every inch of skin Bucky bares, as if to make sure he’s okay. There aren’t any bruises, any cuts, any injuries left on Bucky’s body from snapping back into the human realm. It’s like nothing happened. Like the only evidence of him being gone is the pain behind Steve’s eyes.

Bucky hums low in his throat when the first rush of hot water hits his body. It washes away dust and ash and sweat and, with the help of Steve’s hands, leaves him clean of the war they fought.

“Wash my hair for me?” Bucky asks with a murmurs, and then smiles to himself when Steve kisses his shoulder and grabs the shampoo bottle without being asked twice.

All of the tension leaves Bucky’s body as Steve’s fingers work through his hair and massage his scalp. The atmosphere between them also changes with this much needed contact, transforming from something desperate and hurt to a soothing calm that warms Bucky’s soul.

“Hi,” Bucky says after Steve’s done rinsing his hair. His hands are resting on Steve’s chest, the flesh one right over the sure beat of Steve’s heart.

“Hi,” Steve whispers, fingers tangled in Bucky’s hair, combing through the strands.

They both move at the same time, lips touching in a soft press of a kiss that is equal parts familiar and world-shattering. Steve makes a small broken sound against Bucky’s mouth, grip tightening on Bucky’s hair, and Bucky doesn’t hesitate to pull him closer and kiss him deeper.

They get out of the shower eventually, taking only a few seconds to dry themselves before they’re stumbling into Bucky’s bed — _their_ bed —, naked and eager for what’s to come. Bucky can’t stop kissing Steve now that they’ve started this, nipping and biting at Steve’s bottom lip, licking into his mouth, tasting him over and over and over again. Steve gives as good as he gets, eager hands touching and squeezing and gripping at Bucky’s body, holding him tight and close, pulling Bucky to him until Steve’s lying with his back on the mattress and Bucky is on top of him.

There is no need for words between them. Bucky knows what Steve wants as soon as Steve spreads his legs and grabs a handful of Bucky’s ass, back arching so their chests are pressed together, cocks lined up and leaking over Steve’s stomach.

“This what you want, sweetheart?” Bucky checks in anyway, because Steve deserves all the care in the world.

Steve cups Bucky’s cheek in one hand, bringing his face down for a kiss that is slow and deep and so filled with love Bucky’s heart trips inside his chest. “I need to feel you,” Steve murmurs, kissing Bucky again and again. “Please.”

They don’t do this much, preferring to make each other feel good in different ways, but Bucky will always love the hitch in Steve’s breathing when Bucky starts opening him up on his fingers, vibranium this time, slowly and carefully until Steve is moaning with it and fucking himself back on Bucky’s hand.

“Love you,” Bucky says, the first time since he’s been back, mouth hot on the side of Steve’s neck.

“Love _you_ ,” Steve throws back with a nip to the shell of Bucky’s ear, laughing a little when it makes Bucky shiver. “C’mon, honey, _please_.”

Steve’s eyes flutter shut when Bucky first pushes inside of him, cheeks flushed, red lips open in a silent moan. He looks so beautiful Bucky has to stop and take a deep breath, overwhelmed by the feeling of Steve around him, under him.

“What did I ever do to deserve you,” Bucky blurts out, arms braced on each side of Steve’s head, his hair falling down like a curtain around their faces.

Steve smiles at him then, without a single trace of sadness. “You exist,” he says, nuzzling their noses together. “That’s more than enough.”

All Bucky can do is kiss Steve again, taste the sweetness of him, trying to convey the amount of love he’s feeling into this one gesture. They move slowly against each other, settling into an easy and familiar rhythm as Bucky makes love to Steve. It’s like they’re getting to know each other again, grounding themselves in their bodies and in their love for each other with each roll of Bucky’s hips and each gasp that leaves their mouths.

Steve’s cock is hard and leaking against his stomach, and Bucky presses a kiss to the corner of Steve’s mouth before he takes Steve in his vibranium hand. He can’t help but smile at the drawn out groan Steve lets out at the contrast of vibranium against his hard cock. Bucky knows Steve’s close, can feel it in the way Steve clenches around him, the way his thighs tremble around Bucky’s waist, the way his kisses turn sloppier and messier and needier. Bucky just needs to help him along.

“Look at you,” Bucky says, voice low and rough with his love for Steve. Steve stares up at him, eyes glazed and long hair damp with sweat, with so much emotion shining in his eyes that Bucky has to lean down and kiss him again. “The best birthday gift I could ever get.”

Steve comes with a sob and Bucky’s name on his tongue, head thrown back and body tensing as he spills over his own stomach and Bucky’s hand. Bucky follows a second later, emptying himself inside of Steve while his mouth latches on to the side of Steve’s throat.

Steve’s arms wrap around Bucky’s shoulders, keeping him in place, while his mouth peppers butterfly kisses on the side of Bucky’s face. “I love you,” he says quietly, not letting go.

Bucky kisses the quickly-forming bruise on Steve’s neck, kisses the curve of his jaw, his chin, his mouth. “I love you too. Thank you for bringing me back.”

“Always.” Steve tilts his chin up so he can kiss Bucky again, one more time. “Happy birthday. Thank you for coming back.”

“Always,” Bucky says, kissing Steve yet again.

Through ice, through dust, they will always find their way back to each other.

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/wearing_tearing), [dreamwidth](https://wearing-tearing.dreamwidth.org/), and [tumblr](http://hawkguyz.tumblr.com/)!


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